iePlexus.com Premiers New Online Shopping Network buyPlexus.com

www.iePlexus.com announces launch of buyPlexus.com, a Web 2.0 online shopping network designed for users to easily connect and explore businesses, products and services.

Lynnwood, WA (PRESS RELEASE) August 18, 2008 — Social media marketing company iePlexus.com today announced the official launch of buyPlexus.com, a new Web 2.0 shopping network and online directory developed specifically to enable users to find detailed information on a variety of businesses, their products and services. The buyPlexus.com website allows both consumers and merchants the ability to post, search and discover business listings, classified advertisements, articles and coupons all in one location.

“buyPlexus.com is unique because it benefits both the shopper and business owner,” says Kris Themstrup, Director of Marketing at iePlexus. “Shoppers have a place to find the products or services they’re interested in, and merchants can utilize the site’s marketing tools to generate additional exposure in the search engines and social media networks. We’ve created a powerful shopping portal in buyPlexus.com that’s capable of rivaling some of the most popular online.” As an introductory offer to mark its launch, buyPlexus.com is offering top-level business listings, called ‘Showcase Listings’ for free to businesses for the first 30 days of membership. “The free business directory promotion is designed to allow more users to experience the benefits of the network and build a significant advertiser base – we’ve had a great response so far,” states Themstrup.

The shopping network fits well with the business services offered by iePlexus, a Web 2.0 marketing and social media advertising company in business since 2005. iePlexus provides online marketing services including business blog development and customization, press release creation and distribution, and social media integration for e-commerce websites. “Since buyPlexus.com was built with the new Web 2.0 marketing standards in mind, we were able to augment the listings with additional components like business blogs, RSS feeds, Google Maps, photo galleries, reviews, comments and social media functionality,” added Themstrup. “Our designers and developers knew savvy marketers would appreciate these extra features, and they did a great job integrating them into the site.”

Along with the myriad of features available to business owners, buyPlexus.com also caters to online consumers. Users can search classified advertisements, articles, or coupons in virtually every category of products and services, on a local or national level. The classified advertisements and articles can be posted by anyone and include the complete set of attributes available to each listing. Coupons can be added by product or service providers to help generate additional business and announce specials or promotions. “The goal with buyPlexus is to enable anyone to post and search products and services – not just business owners,” commented Jason Thurston, owner of iePlexus. “Many competitors simply don’t allow people to take advantage of a network’s popularity without paying high fees or having an established business, so we made sure buyPlexus was accessible to everyone and didn’t exclude those users.”

“We hope the launch of buyPlexus.com shows our continued commitment to being a resource for everyone, not just our clients,” says Thurston. “In terms of advertising a business, we know the best approach to marketing is a comprehensive one, so buyPlexus certainly meets that need by providing so many options.” To keep advertisers and visitors to the site informed, the buyPlexus Blog was launched in conjunction with the directory and will be regularly updated with new developments and website news.

For additional information on the launch of the buyPlexus.com shopping network and directory, visit iePlexus.com or buyPlexus.com.

About iePlexus:
iePlexus.com specializes in providing comprehensive Web 2.0 marketing strategies for online businesses. Services include professional business blogs, press releases, social media advertising and web content writing. iePlexus, Inc has been in business since 2005 and operates its corporate headquarters out of Lynnwood, Washington.

About buyPlexus:
buyPlexus.com is owned by iePlexus, Inc. and is an online-based Web 2.0 shopping network and business directory. Services include comprehensive business profiles, classified advertisements, article posting and coupons. buyPlexus is open to all users to search and post information and was officially launched in August, 2008.

Press Release Locations: buyPlexus on PRWeb | buyPlexus on Yahoo! News

Marketing Basics: The Online Press Release

Think a press release is an outdated, “old media” approach to marketing? Think again.

There’s countless studies and articles highlighting the benefits of a press release for online businesses. From generating traffic, inbound links and business or product buzz, to getting positive press and top billing on search results, the new online marketing standards certainly include press releases as a vital and important component for better exposure. But it isn’t as simple as writing a release and sending it off; there are many factors when it comes to effectively using a press release to market your business. Here’s some things to consider to ensure you’re getting the most out of a press release and why you should have done one yesterday:

1. Good writing - it’s in there.
Your press release is only as good as its content. Don’t be fooled into thinking you can take a look at some samples online and put together a blockbuster press release for your business. There are industry experts for a reason; a well-written press release will draw more attention, generate more traffic, and put a professional shine on your business that will scream “do business with me!” Press releases can get rejected or find the trash very easily, so make sure your release will catch the readers interest quickly and meet all the industry standards, or don’t expect much of a response.

2. Optimization is not an option.
Your press release must be optimized for search engines, news sites and online media. Not optimizing your release is like making a fantastic bottle of wine and super-gluing the cork in. Every online extension of your business should be optimized these days to get the best potential exposure, including your website, press release, business blog, articles, social media advertising and links. With optimization comes an easier road for your customers to find you, so swing that door wide open.

3. Distribute. Everywhere.
Distribution of your press release is just as important as content or optimization - once you’ve had the masterpiece created, it’s time to unveil. Distribution is a numbers game; the more avenues of publication available to your release, the better chance of discovery, syndication and popularity. Again, don’t fall victim to the “free press release” services - typically they’ll only submit your release to a limited number of sources, stiffeling its potential to both engines and readers. Professional services are the best bet, reaching all major publications and opt-in freelance journalists through RSS, email and the like.

Stats for Press Releases:
The potential benefit from a well-done press releases is pretty incredible. It can build your brand, generate link popularity, increase company credibility and be a great source of immediate traffic and business, among other things. Let’s look at some sample stats so we can get a snapshot of the potential effect this simple marketing practice can deliver (keep in mind that this is one experiment - results vary from market to market and depend on many variables).

Stats taken from marketingexperiments.com “Press Release Tested“

9 press releases issued over a period of time generated:

• 5442 direct visitors, an average of over 600 visitors per press release (distribution limited to a single state, and an average of 530 distribution editors per release).
• A five-fold increase in the number of direct incoming links to the website, 1250 links to 12,500 links (over a six-month period).
• 14 interviews with media reps, resulting in additional traffic and links.
• On average, traffic that was 38.9% less expensive than comparable traffic from a PPC campaign.
• A CPC (cost per click) much lower than the relevant targeted keywords in Google.

In summary, this example shows the vast reach and benefit of online press releases, even when they’re distributed on a small scale. Some of the professional press release services average 10,000-20,000 distribution points these days, so keep that in mind when viewing the numbers. The bottom line is that every piece of expert advice and research available online points to the fact that press releases are a valuable practice for an online business, and done correctly, can greatly increase multiple areas of exposure. The question is, have you done a press release for your business?

Here’s more information on press release services for online businesses.